UPDATED BELOW WITH FINANCES ON 2/6: It's Only Money got the following email from a homeowner frustrated by his bank's efforts to help him prevent foreclosure.The bank is one of the nation's largest and received federal bailout money. The bank is trying to help the homeowner, a spokesman said, who promises further explanation on Monday.

Has anyone else out there had an experience like this family's? Do you empathize with them or not?

Here's the email we received:

My name Shane and I live in Oregon with my wife and two daughters. We are like many other Oregonians and Americans struggling through our weakened economy. We are not able to keep up with our mortgage anymore and have found things very difficult when trying to find help.

I am attaching a letter I wrote to (the vice president of the bank's) mortgage department ... but have had a difficult time trying to figure out how to get it to him. I am just hoping that I can get my message out there somehow.

Dear (vice president),

I'm sending this e-mail in hopes that it gets to you, but in reality I know it will probably be ignored just as many struggling home owners are being ignored now by their mortgage lender. I was recently was given an article ... and in it you were quoted as saying how (the bank) wants to help their mortgage owners. Well, through the last FIVE months I can tell you from personal experience that your bank is in NO way willing to help!

We tried to get help before we started to get behind on our mortgage payments, because we could see a crisis coming. (The bank)'s response was MOST disappointing, as we were told there was nothing that could be done because we were still current with our payments. The only way we were going to even be considered for help was to become delinquent with our payments. My wife and I have talked to, I can't tell you how many people at (the bank)'s customer service center with NO help what so ever!

We finally got behind on our mortgage and we were then told to fill out a hardship letter and send that along with some financial information to the bank. Well why we waited for almost a month for an answer of, we CAN'T help you, we had become two months behind. Well while fielding numerous collection calls from your bank, we were told that being THREE months behind might help us be eligible for help from sources like HUD and Hope for Homeowners.

Well I can tell you this, that DIDN'T work either. So here we are now 3 months behind on our mortgage, due to BAD advice from your bank on needing to be late with our payments to get help! Now I just sit and field phone calls from your bank wanting their money.

Here is the stupid thing that I cannot believe. (The bank) now says we are eligible for a re-payment plan for the three months we owe (we started paying our mortgage again with help from family, which is SOON to run out). They tell me that they can work out a payment plan by adding more to my monthly payment and thus catching up with my mortgage. Do you see the NONSENSE in that? If I can't afford my payment now, what in the world makes (the bank) think I can pay a higher monthly payment! UNBELIEVABLE! Now I realize that my problems are not caused by (the bank), but rather a terrible economy, but as a struggling home owner I was led to believe that there was supposed to be help out there for us. That is proving to be NOT true.

I have offered to just pay interest for a while till things turn around. All I know there is no way I can pay a $1921/month payment when I have lost almost a $1000 of monthly income over the last year. Every place (the bank) wants to send me for help, just wants to send me to Consumer Credit Counseling. Well that's not the problem. My monthly bills are all utilities, phone and TV. I have two credit cards but their monthly payments combined aren't even $200. So, getting rid of those and TV and phone don't make up for my lost income.

We are just a few months away from having to walk away from this home unless some kind of miracle happens. All I need to know is, is (the bank) going to be that miracle, or is all this help for home owners that is SUPPOSED to be out there (using my tax dollars) just a big lie?

Thank you for your time,

Shane - desperate home owner

UPDATE: For background purposes, Shane tells me his total household income has gone from just over $64,000 in 2007 to under $49,000 in 2008, a 23 percent drop. As the economy has slowed, he said, the building-supply company he works for has cut his hours from more than 50 per week to 30 a week. His wife works parttime. He said he's considering giving up cable and a cellphone (he has no land line). His credit card debt totals $6,400, most of which he says he's gotten into following the decline in his income. "This house was affordable to us at one time and we could still save a little every month," he says. "Now it is just beyond us."